Small Business SEO: Competing With Bigger Companies

Many small businesses tend to steer clear of using SEO because they feel that it is only a waste of money because there is no way they can compete with larger companies in their field. There is nothing about this idea that is true, when in fact small businesses can be just as successful when using SEO as major companies that practice in the same market. Small businesses that don’t use SEO because they feel like it would be ineffective because they are a small business have obviously never use any kind of online marketing firm to even see the results of SEO. What most small businesses don’t know is you don’t have to resort to major companies to see the effects of SEO if you are a small business.

Start With On Page Content

Your on page content is going to play an important role in seeing an increase of traffic on your website. Google is going to look at your sites content to determine if the content is knowledge and fulfilling. You want to use keywords and Meta descriptions to register this information through Google, making your site more visible to people, and increasing your traffic.

If you aren’t an expert on keywords or XML sitemaps, you may want to consult with an online marketing firm to have them do keyword research to determine which keywords your business should be using in order to increase your visibility. Having this company set up an XML sitemap will make sure your site is crawled regularly, which will increase your rankings.

Be Mobile Friendly

When it comes to your website design, you want to make sure you are choosing a design that is going to be mobile friendly. People are beginning to rely less on their computers and more on their mobile devices. If you are creating a website design to target a specific market, you are going to want to target mobile devices because they are more commonly used compared to other devices. You will be surprised just how much your website traffic will increase just by being mobile friendly.

Don’t Ignore Local SEO

Where many businesses may not be able to compete with other businesses that use the same keywords nationwide, they often ignore local SEO, which could give them an advantage locally. Search engines have the ability to identify locations, so by using local SEO you are bringing more attention to your business through locals. It is a proven study that 90% of people will turn to online resources before purchasing through local venues. This makes local SEO a vital tool for small businesses.

Web citations allow Google to identify businesses by location. There are various web citations that you can use to help enhance your visibility in search engines. Google places and Yahoo locations are two important web citations that you can register with just to make your business visible by location.

By following these basic SEO techniques, you will eventually pick up on other methods. If you don’t think you have what it takes to do these techniques, it may not be a bad idea for you to consult with an online marketing firm or SEO agency. Every business can benefit from SEO services no matter how big or small, it is all about your approach.

Author Bio: Lucas has been writing publications for online marketing firms for the past 6 years. He has used various research methods to study the effectiveness on SEO on large businesses and small businesses to educate the public of how they can benefit from obtaining SEO services.